The Storm War
by TionneDawnstar
Summary: Set 5 years after the crystallization of Cocoon, the fal'Cie are back, but things aren't as they seem. Rated M for lemon and violence. If you don't like it, don't read it. Eventual HopexLighting, FangxVanille, SnowxSerah.
1. Reunion

_**Final Fantasy XIII- The Storm War**_

Welcome to my first attempt at an FF13 fanfic. I had posted it before, but realized that it wasn't up to my standards, so after some revising, I'm reposting.I want this to be made clear, if you have constructive things to say on mistakes in grammar and typos, then please feel free to leave that in a review. If you simply don't like the story don't ready it and don't leave a comment. This is rated M for future violence and sex... yes there will be sex... so it's M for now to be safe. So yeah, if you want to be helpful, then please do, if you want to be hurtful, then I will report you. I don't care if you like the premise, it's my story so... yeah.

Square Enix owns this, and I don't make any money on this! This takes place 5 years after the end of the game, and will have spoilers. The cosmology is actually based on the Analects found within the data log. I still haven't unlocked them all, (I'm at 86% of the cie'th stone missions complete) so I might adjust things once I finish them all. There will be pairings of SnowxSerah, FangxVanille, and grown up Hope and Lightning. This is mostly an adventure fic, so enjoy!

* * *

**Prologue**

On the day that Orphan was defeated, releasing the Lindzei from life, the Goddess returned. The Goddess, bringer of life and death, stayed nearby, watching the remaining fal'Cie, and the humans make war.

She pitied the l'Cie, once there had been a place for them, and she rewarded those that were successful with the crystal sleep. The true being of l'Cie had been twisted to a chess game, with the fal'Cie as the masters, and the humans the pawns.

Five years after, the Goddess was finished with watching silently, and in a rage, she destroyed the crystal Cocoon, forcing the dead fal'Cie back to life to face her judgment for hundreds of years of abuse.

Barthandelus took advantage of this, and with the other Sanctum fal'Cie, he took up hands against the Goddess. Anger drenched his being, his view only going as far as the betrayal he perceived, and he took up arms and slew her, casting himself, and the other chosen ones back to Pulse, most of their powers stripped from them, and in a corruptible, mortal state.

**Chapter 1: Reunion**

Lightning sighed a bit as she unlocked the door of her small house, removing her armor from her shoulders and rolling her neck, trying to work the kinks out. She'd been a soldier a long time, but she didn't realize until after she'd lost her powers how useful they really were in combat. Fighting behemoths was easier with Odin, or magic at her side. It didn't matter though, she wasn't l'Cie any more, and she didn't really want to be again. She tossed the armor into an empty chair and sat down to pull her boots off, her hair going up into a ponytail. She carefully removed her grav-com manadrive, sitting it on her coffee table so she could find it in the morning.

The former l'Cie, Light, and her remaining friends, now worked on protecting the survivors from Cocoon, who's numbers were shrinking from the monster attacks, and despite her sister and brother in law's best efforts, very few children had been born. Most of the time, it seemed like a losing battle. The settlement she lived in was called Alpha colony, which had been the first outpost made, but in recent days, it had become a forward staging point for the military. Snow and Sazh had taken Serah and Dajh to Beta Colony, not long after they were finished building it, thinking Oerba was safer then the Northern Highplain colony. Hope had stayed, moving from Snow's house to her spare bedroom, but he hadn't stayed long. She noticed that he became increasingly uncomfortable, and the moment he turned sixteen, and was old enough, he joined the Army and moved to Beta Colony. She hadn't given it much thought, he was growing up, and even when he'd left, he was already her height. He was probably taller then she was now. She'd heard through the grapevine that he was a Lieutenant already, which in a way made her proud… not that she'd tell him that. "Hm," she muttered, walking over to her fridge to pull out a beer, thinking back to the young man. It had been three years since he'd joined the military, maybe she should go and check on him. She'd always had this strange protective friendship with him, and she rightly blamed Odin for that.

She went toward her bedroom, resolved to worry about showering in the morning, so the Captain finished undressing, slipping into a camisole and shorts, pulling her blankets back and snuggling into her covers. Her mind was still on Hope, and she missed him as much as she missed Fang and Vanille, but for different reasons, she came to realize. With a huff, she pulled the blankets over her head and frowned at the darkness. Why was she thinking about Hope so much? Light's thoughts wandered to the behemoth she'd fought that night, more then once she'd wished the silver haired kid had been at her side. His spell casting was second to none, even when using a manadrive, but as the commanding officer of Alpha colony, she couldn't just up and leave it, not like the others had. There were still a few civilians that lived there, not wanting to deal with the cold climate in Oerba; someone had to stay behind to protect them. She had a feeling she wouldn't be sleeping much despite being exhausted.

Light wasn't expecting the world outside her little cocoon to light up, and as if the gods were punishing her for her depressing thoughts, the light kept growing, making it almost as bright as the noontime sun. She threw the blanket off and frowned, getting up to look out the window. When she realized the light was coming from the direction of Cocoon, she stepped into her living room just as the first of several tremors started to shake the house. A low sound could be heard from outside, and she moved, not bothering with clothes, and she ran to the door. An explosion stopped her motion, causing the glass windows in the front of the house to shatter, her bare arms and legs protected only by the door she was gripping.

Lightning was blown back into the wall, grunting as she rolled to her feet, only to be struck by an extreme pain in her chest. She felt like she was falling, only to come to a halt in front of Dysley… the human form of Barthandelus, and several others she didn't know. His voice resounded in her head, causing her more pain as he said, "You think mere l'Cie can destroy a fal'Cie. You're arrogance knows no bounds… as do your dreams, which is why she is now gone forever. Not even a Goddess can stop us." He laughed, causing Light to loose consciousness, the pain in her body nothing compare to what was happening in her heart.

.:xXx:.

"Lightning!"

A groan came out of the battered woman, the call of her name made her give up the peaceful blackness of unconsciousness, and someone was gently shaking her, trying to get her to come around. "Ungh," she grumbled, forcing her eyes open, her shaky arms managing to support her weight as she sat up. Her hand went to her head and it pulled away, wet with blood, which just made her frown more. It was light outside, probably mid-morning, and she moved her head a bit to look up at the person calling her name.

The soldier was surprised to see Hope standing there in his uniform, his hair in disarray, face streaked with blood and dirt as well. His brown pants were ripped at the knees, and his hands were raw. He looked positively stricken, but the moment she recognized him, his arms went around her and he hugged her close.

"Hope," she croaked past her parched throat, her bloody hand patting his side to try and get his attention. He pulled back a bit and she looked up, he had to be as tall as Snow now since he was huge even kneeling down. "What happened?" She winced at the bright light, pretty sure she had a small concussion, since she was pretty dizzy and the Lieutenant was still holding her up. He moved away, causing her to sway again, and took his uniform jacket off, the brown canvas was standard military issue, his rank insignia attached to one shoulder. She mentally cataloged the red stripes, it seemed that he had made it to Lieutenant after all. He wrapped her bruised and battered body up in the fabric, his spicy smell covering up the blood and smoke in the air, though much to her dismay she felt like a child wrapped up in their father's jacket. _When did he get so big?_

Light focused when Hope started talking, his voice had deepened before he'd left, but now, as a full fledged man… she couldn't help but think his deep tenor was fitting. He probably had girls all over him.

"We got lucky, it could have been much worse. Hey Light, are you listening?"

Lightning frowned, punching him lightly in the side and grumbled an affirmative. She noticed that what would have doubled him over when they were traveling together, didn't even faze him now. She knew that the commander of Beta Colony was a stickler for physical prowess, but whatever they were doing has turned Hope into a lithe battle tank. She forced her addled mind to pay attention, and she shook her head to show she didn't understand. "What do you mean? What happened?"

"It's Cocoon…" Hope said softly, sadness in his voice, "it exploded…"

The flash of the vision came back to her, of Cocoon shattering and the Sanctum fal'Cie returning to life. "Wait…" she moved the coat the lieutenant had put on her, looking down at her chest. There, like a black mar on her porcelain skin, was her mark. Light looked back to him, who moved his arm to show the mark there.

Thoughts started to race through her head, what about the others? "Everyone else?" Hope nodded, "my unit was sent the moment we got the call for help, it took us a while to get here though, and we couldn't find you. I kept digging; somehow I just knew you had to be in your house. It took me all morning, but you were alive when I got to you. I tried to cast a cura on you, but I couldn't…" He looked down at his hand, as if it had betrayed him somehow, she noticed he had a thunder type manadrive strapped to his arm. He sighed, hugging her again. "I thought you were dead."

Light sighed, weakly hugging him back, taking a look around her. It looked as if her house had fallen on top of her. No wonder he was upset. "Hope, focus, what about every one else?"

He nodded, "Yeah… everyone is marked, even Dajh." A troubled look ran over his soft features and Light didn't miss the tortured look on his face before she moved slowly, putting a hand on his arm, over his mark. The silver haired man blinked and looked to her. "It's bad, half the people here are dead or seriously injured. They would have left you here for others if I hadn't come here on my own. I thought we'd lost you."

The warrior just grunted at him, her mind going to Fang and Vanille. They would still be safe, right? They were crystal, like they had been before the event five years ago; they were there to watch over them… but now… if Cocoon was gone…

Cocoon was really gone?

Lightning pushed Hope back, out of the way and started climb out of the debris of her house, spotting, and grabbing her shoes that had been next to her door, and slipping them on. He was calling, and she could hear him following her, probably since she wasn't being rational. She was injured and didn't even have a weapon, but she had to see it for herself. She had to know if they had lost Vanille and Fang. If Cocoon was gone… would they be gone too?

When she made it out of the town proper, she emerged into the grassland where the crystal Cocoon had been suspended; she was met with choking ash and a sea of crystal fragments as far as she could see. She started to pick her way through the debris field, Hope was catching up, calling to her to wait up, but she didn't. She had to see for herself… Fang and Vanille had to be somewhere!

She'd lost track of time as she climbed over the pieces of their old home, some of them were huge, pieces of crystal building, or chunks of a car, other pieces, the ones that cut her hand and legs as she climbed over them, weren't anything recognizable. The ground crunched under her feet as she made her way toward the middle of the destruction, Hope caught up with her, the taller man was carrying his weapon, just in case. Her face was set into a deep frown, and she didn't even notice that she was bleeding from multiple new cuts and scratches, her concern for their friends making her focus absolute. They were nearly to the center when they heard the strum of engines, and Light took a moment to look over her shoulder, seeing vehicles flying toward their position, probably from the other settlement, coming to help. A bright light came on and focused in on them, before that smaller transport landed not far off, kicking up the crystal dust. Motes of rainbow light danced on the artificial wind, but Hope put a hand up to wave them off for now. He knew better then to try and force the Commander to do something she didn't want to.

He did sigh however, moving behind her, as she swayed a bit, "they aren't here," he said, a deep sadness in his voice. "It looks like we couldn't change this fate…"

Lightning frowned a bit, turning to look at him, "but…"

Hope shook his head, putting a hand on her shoulder, only then did she realize how tall he was now… the awkward, misguided teen was obviously now a grown man. However, no matter how grown and responsible he was, she was still herself, and she left no man behind. She turned, shrugging the hand off her shoulder and stomped her way back toward the blast site.

The young man sighed, his shoulders hunching a bit. "I guess Snow never told you why I left," he whispered to himself, the sadness still in his voice, but only for a different reason.

He almost didn't go after her, thinking that she just might need time alone, but she was injured, and he had the only weapon. He frowned and ran after her. They had no idea what could be in the debris cloud; his unit hadn't even been out this far yet. He'd already thought they'd lost her once today; he wasn't about to make that come true.

.:xXx:.

Hope had managed to catch up with Lightning, wincing a bit at the scowl marking her pretty features. "Light, I'm sorry, I didn't realize… just calm down and we'll find them together. Once you go back, I can leave if I make you angry."

She stopped and sighed, her shoulders drooping just a bit before she turned and looked at him, the blood and grime still sullying her visage, her earlier wounds scabbed over from the cure spell, the new ones still red and angry. "No Hope, I'm sorry, I'm glad you're here…" She couldn't help but smile a little at the soft look that ran over her friend's face. She winced, her arm going to her side, the jacket disguising a more serious wound on her side that was bothering her quite a bit.

The mage reached out and grabbed her, pulling her close so she could rest. "Catch your breath," he whispered, his hand moving to the wound on her side. It had closed, but all her moving must have opened it again. He casted another cure before removing his hand, wiping the blood on his pant leg before his other arm went around her shoulders for support.

"Hmm," came a rich, female voice from behind them, causing both Hope and Light to tense, only to hear a gentle giggle cut the air. "Will you two just make out an' get it over with?" The thick accent was a familiar one, causing Light to jerk away from Hope, for a much different reason then the young man was blushing.

Two forms came out of the smoke, hand in hand, smiles on their faces.

Hope grinned and ran forward, grabbing Vanille into a hug as Fang came forward and smirked at Lightning. The older woman tilted her head, looking over her shoulder as the not so little Hope swung the giggling Vanille like a rag doll, happy to see her again.

"Well, we've got 'lot to talk about," Fang drawled, her hand resting on her hip, "best let them celebrate first, or they'll sulk."

"How?"

The dark haired woman smirked and shrugged, "part of me thinks that crystal stasis is just to keep warriors fal'Cie like around longer then their intended purpose." Light blinked at her, then smirked herself.

"Yeah, dreams and aspirations that are to their liking must be hard to come by."

Lightning nodded a bit, moving to sit on a rock while the cure spell tried to mend her body. "We came out here to try and find you." Fang grunted and walked over, moving the jacket to see her brand.

"Just what I thought, something big is happening, I tell you… bigger then last time."

Light just grunted and nodded, pulling Hope's jacket around her again.

"So, Snow keeping his promise to make Serah happy?"

The commander blinked and looked back to the raven-haired woman, "you knew about that?"

"Oh, wouldn't you be surprised by the things I hear." She winked and walked over to the group of younger l'Cie, leaving Light alone.

"He is keeping his promise… just too far away from me." She sighed, closing her eyes and tilting her head forward. They were going to have evacuate everyone to the other colony, and as a commander, even without her uniform, she'd need to help.

Cocoon was gone; there wasn't anything they could do about that, all they could do was pick up and save whatever they could. Troubling visions from the explosion cluttered her mind, but they couldn't start anything until they had the others with them anyway.

It would be all right, that was the only thing the soldier could tell herself. Their journey five years ago had caused her to open up a little, but some things would never change…

She'd protect them, as they protected her and despite the less the perfect circumstances, she was glad they were all together again. Even if she'd never admit it, she'd missed them all being together. Light moved toward the transport waiting for them, waving for the others to follow. They were still too jubilant for the bleak landscape, but she wasn't going to say anything for the moment. It was better for them to be together again; the life and death concerns of the return of their marks could wait an hour at least. She heard someone come up beside her; a soft voice spoke low, so only she could hear.

"Light, your hands are shaking."

She brought them up to her chest and laced her fingers together, "my hands…?" She glanced to Hope, who reached over and place his larger hands over hers.

"It's alright, we'll get through this."

"Um… yeah… sure." She didn't know why her hands betrayed her the way they did, maybe she wanted to reach out to revel in the reunion, or maybe the unease of another reunion caused her hands to clench and shake. "Why?"

"Why what Light?"

She pulled away; Fang and Vanille were keeping their distance, almost as if they knew something needed to be said. "Why did you leave? Three years ago, I came home and you were gone without even a note."

"It was something I had to do…" He shifted, uneasy at her question and the raw edge her voice had taken. "I had to figure something out before I could come back."

"Family, Hope… you don't abandon family." She walked into the transport, leaving the younger man to stand there and stare at the place she'd been

"Family?" He said sadly, "I don't want to be _that_ sort of family, but you'll never understand."

He followed her in, the other two reaching the vehicle rather quickly. It took off toward Alpha Colony, the l'Cie on board intent on making sure the civilians were able to get to Beta Colony without mishap. The destruction would scare monsters away for the moment, but the carnage of those that didn't make it would attract them eventually.

They had all lost so much; none of them were looking forward to the job ahead of them, even if they were all happy to be together.

The party wasn't aware of something watching, lifting high on the winds created by the destruction of Cocoon. The clockwork owl flapped, taking more air as it soared toward its master, who was still unconscious, somewhere in the Haerii Archaeopolis.

.:xXx:.

Deep within the Faultwarrens, figures moved, all of them the size of most humans, the six beings were anything but mortal, the power in their eyes was something that could not be explained away. Some of them, ones that had been 'killed' were the last to wake, and the others moved around assessing the current situation. A large, burly man with green, curly hair that fell down his back stood at the entrance to his domain, as a rotund, short man waddled his way over to him. The first, looked as though he was chiseled from rock itself, his refined and well-defined facial features held a set of deep green eyes, with large arms crossed over his chest. "Atomos?" he said the silent question to the mole-like man standing beside him, his small, gray eyes glancing up at the behemoth.

"Aye Titan, the others are awake finally. Anima was the last to come too. She was weakened by what Barthandelus did, it's drained her."

"Hmph," Titan looked over his shoulder, his voice sounded like a landslide, and the mousy fal'Cie couldn't help but notice his annoyance. "Her little l'Cie are up and running about. No doubt that is her trouble. What of the others?"

"None of us know how we were forced into our mortal forms, and what's worse, we can't get back out of them. I guess it has to do with…"

Titan put a hand up, they still weren't one hundred percent sure what happened. "The others are nearby, we will have to meet with them soon. We'll have to meet with the l'Cie."

"Work with the humans?" Atomos seemed shocked, and then Titan moved to look down at him.

"I am not convinced that all the traitors are a loss."

"Phoenix went of her own accord…" Titan glowered at the little fal'Cie and he put his hands up. "Right, right… it's all Barthandelus, betrayed and all that, and he doesn't care about the duty she gave us. You think the others went with him all those years ago to make Cocoon for some other reason?"

"I don't know, but I will find out. In our weakened states, we need the l'Cie in order to defeat Barthandelus."

"Sure, sure…" Atomos nodded, walking back toward the others. Anima was sitting up now, her long, blue hair covering her intimate areas, her dark skin reminiscent of her most beloved Yun clan, her crystal eyes gazing out from behind the long tendrils of sapphire hair. "Titan wants to go see your children. You can lead us?"

"Yes," came her soft voice, and she looked over her shoulder to Dahaka. He was standing on the edge of the cliff, his long, black hair and hawkish features were staring out into the valley below, his blue-black wings folded up against his back. His sister Bismarck, guardian of Sulyya springs, stayed near him, her pixie like body curled at his feet, her short purple hair and bluish skin looked like translucent water under the rays of the sun.

Dahaka frowned a bit at Anima's scrutiny and lifted the tiny Bismarck to ride on his shoulder, his wings unfurling. "If you wish to know if we will come, just speak plainly Anima. I wish to know why your l'Cie were so ineffectual in releasing me from this existence."

Bismarck pounded him on the head with her small fist, her voice sounded like a babbling stream more then human speech. "Just because your humans were destroyed by the Cocoon fal'Cie first doesn't mean you should just die. You've been roaming around for too long…"

Dahaka frowned a bit, and then sighed; putting one hand up to make sure Bismarck didn't fall. "Anything for you Lady," The girl smiled as they all started for Titan, still standing as the immovable protector of their little camp.

Just to the south of them, as they moved out to find the l'Cie, an owl descended and landed near an old man, the other beings nearby were starting to stir.


	2. The Price of Goodbye

_**Final Fantasy XIII: The Storm War**_

All right, so I rewrote this chapter as well, and I'm bringing Snow in, for no other reason that I love him and I thought it completely normal for Serah to send Snow to get his sister. Besides, he's hot, and it took a lot for me to not intro him in the last chapter. Anyway, thanks to all the great reviews, I hope you enjoy this!

Anyway, this next chapter will have more person-to-person interactions with the main characters, and perhaps a fight or two! Read on, and as always, I own nothing.

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Price of Goodbye**

The ride back to Alpha Colony was a bit quiet, Hope and Vanille were sitting on one end of transport, talking in hushed tones about everything that had happened since the two went into Crystal Stasis. Fang had remained for a time, just listening, before she looked over and saw Light glaring at the wall. The raven haired woman didn't even bother to excuse herself when she made her way toward the front to sit in front of the strawberry blonde.

"You should probably heal those wounds."

The soldier grunted and pulled the jacket she was wearing back, gingerly probing the wound at her side. "I would, if I could. I've been trying to cast it, but nothing happens."

Fang frowned and leaned forward, lifting the side of Light's tank top without permission to get a better look at the wound. "This doesn't look good," she looked over to the other two, about to call Hope over when she had her arms grabbed. She turned to look at Lightning, and frown coming to her face.

"Lightning, it's gonna get infected if you don't get that healed. Hope is the best healer. I don't care what happened in the past, but you're being a damned fool." Fang looked to Hope again, and called his name. "Hey, this wound on Light's side is getting worse, come have a look."

The silver haired young man blinked and turned, concern coming over his face. He smiled to Vanille, who got up to move closer too, concerned for their fearless leader. Hope took Fang's seat and ignored the frown on his patient's face. His tender, calloused hands came to her side, lifting the shirt and looking to the gash. "Light, if it was hurting you, you should have said something."

"I said I was fine, didn't I?" She looked away, slightly peeved, though a little choked gasp came out of her when he barely touched the angry skin around the wound. "Alright, so maybe it hurts a little…"

Hope just sighed a bit and leaned forward, looking at her from under his long eyelashes, his eyebrows furrowed in the middle. "You're mad, I get it. But you can't suffer like this alone. Didn't you tell me once that I had friends, and that I didn't have to go it alone? You don't either."

Vanille nodded, "that's right! We know it's been hard on you, being alone, protecting the colony." She giggled softly at the disbelief that came over Lightning's face, "we've been watching over you, always there. So you've never been alone, not really."

The soldier's pink lips formed a thin line, and then she sighed and leaned back, acquiescing to Hope and his healings hands. Vanille moved to a supply locker and started rummaging through it, looking for bandages. Fang motioned for lieutenant to do his thing and he nodded, his eyes going back to Light.

She was watching him, a softer look on her face. Green energy flashed briefly as he activated his brand, and he let the healing energy flow from his hand, into the wound. A little sigh of relief left her, and Hope found his cheeks warming a bit at the sound. His eyes trailed up to her face, trying to ignore the fact she obviously wasn't wearing a bra under the tiny tank top. She had her eyes closed, and for the first time her guard went down, and he realized just how much pain she must have been in. He was pretty sure if her brand hadn't activated and afforded her magical support, she would have died when her house collapsed in on her. He moved his hand to rest against her neck and he casted another cure spell, healing the cuts on her face, neck and shoulders. Her crystal blue eyes fluttered open; she was watching him, a strangely soft look on her face. Heat was rising to his face again, and going to other regions, his hand started to move of it's own accord, touching the top points on her brand. He'd never seen it before; she'd always had the turtleneck on, the only one to actually see her brand was Fang, who had no shame when it came to those kinds of things.

Her hand came up and grasped his, pulling his hand back, a grunt coming from her. She pulled the jacket closed and looked away. "It's the same as yours, no need to concern yourself with it."

A squeak of surprise came out of Vanille when she found what she was looking for, a first aid kit, and she grabbed it, moving back over an handing it to Fang. "We need to bind your wounds Light. If we don't, then they could come open again. Until we know what's wrong with our powers, we should have Hope conserve his strength."

Lightning looked to the red head and frowned, "you can't heal either?"

"Nuh huh," she shook her head slowly, and a thought came to her. "We used to have different sorts of abilities, but remember when we were first branded, we had fewer powers. When the brands expanded, we got more powers. Maybe it's because our brands are in the beginning stages of growth."

Hope thought about it for a moment, and then frowned, "but Vanille, you were always able to heal, right? So were you Light, from the earliest brand. Now, neither of you can."

Fang nodded, "Kid's gotta point. Question is, Hope, can you cast offensive magic?"

He blinked, "I don't know, I haven't tried."

"What about Protect? You've always been able to cast that, right?" Vanille looked to Hope with curiosity, and he nodded, trying to activate his brand to cast the helpful spell. He blinked, and tried again, then frowned, looked up at Light.

"I…I can't cast it." He looked to Fang and Vanille, and the older woman nodded a bit.

"I thought so, whatever is happening is causing our powers to fritz, I'd wager whatever it is, Barthandelus is responsible."

Hope bit his lip, then looked between the three women. "What are we going to do?"

"We fight," Lightning said softly, her voice solid despite the volume. "We fight like we always do, and we save the people we can."

Fang chuckled a bit, moving to push Hope out of the way, only to find it harder then it had been previously. "Hope, move. We have to start with Miss Hero here, she needs to be bandaged up, so move so a woman can do it."

Hope frowned, "you aren't any better to bandage her then I am!"

Vanille giggled, her hand demurely over her mouth. "Yeah, but Fang's not in love with her."

Hope's eyes got huge, and he started sputtering, unable to form a full word. Vanille started to giggle, clutching her sides in her mirth. "Hope, I was kidding, calm down. You're still a boy, Fang's loyal, aren't ya?" She grinned and the older woman smirked.

"That's right, no reason to worry your little head Hope."

"I'm not little…"

That just set the two girls laughing more; Lightning was watching Hope with a contemplative look on her face. What was the big deal? Shouldn't they be more worried about their stunted powers, not who saw her bare mid drift? "I don't care who does it. We're almost there, and I need to be able to fight." She was grumpy, which just made Vanille laugh harder, however Fang straightened up and was able to push Hope out of the way, moving to bandage up the distraught strawberry blonde.

It took another ten minutes to get the bandages right, and two more to settle down on the grass just outside the colony wall. Fang and Vanille were out first, Hope reaching down to help Light up. She frowned a bit and batted his hand away, getting up on her own power. "I'm fine Hope, and stop frowning, you're too young to get wrinkles."

When the party made it inside, they were met with a little shock. One of the men under Light's command came running to them, his eyes intent on the captain. "Ma'am! We have a situation… oh I'm relieved to see you are well, but there is a man here, from Beta, making a fuss and running around, calling 'Sis' over and over and he won't answer any questions."

Lightning deflated a little, Hope's hand came up to pinch the bridge of his nose, and Vanille jumped forward, looking to the young man. "Was he… this tall?" Her hand went up, and then she looked at the distance and decided that wasn't enough, so she got on her tiptoes. "And did he have blond hair, with a black bandana over it? Oh wait, a brown trench coat?"

The brunette boy, who wasn't much younger then Hope nodded, but the captain couldn't help but notice that while he might be the same age as their silver haired friend, this boy seemed much, much younger. While Hope still did have his moments, he seemed older then Vanille now, at least.

The red haired l'Cie giggled and nodded, putting a finger to her chin. "Yep, that sounds like our Snow."

Light stepped forward, "where is he?"

"Last I saw ma'am, he was rummaging through your house."

"Ah, well I'll collect him. Oh and corporal…"

"Damish ma'am, Corporal Damish formally of Palompolum."

"Right, Damish, find me a uniform." The boy saluted her and took off, her shoulders hunched a bit when she knew her subordinates weren't watching, though it didn't go unnoticed by Hope.

"Come on Light," he said softly, placing his hands on her shoulders to help her stay upright, "let's go see what that idiot is doing."

"Huh," she chuckled, nodding a bit. "I bet he thinks he's going to come in and save me for Serah."

Fang smirked, "ah, you think Serah sent him?"

"Well, whether she did or not, it doesn't change anything." They started walking toward the ruins of her house, and sure enough, a certain blonde man was digging through the rubble of what once had been her bedroom.

"Come on Light, you have to be here." They could hear him before they saw him as Light climbed up the pile of debris, looking down into the hole he'd made. She felt kind of bad, since he looked really stricken. He was a good brother in law, despite their rocky start. She cleared her throat and he looked up, his soot streaked face brightening. "Light!"

She waved a bit, her hand was still bloody and dirty from earlier, and it was obvious she was wearing a jacket that was at least three sizes too big for her. "Snow, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be protecting my sister? You leave her in a lurch coming to look for me and you'll be sorry."

"Yeah, yeah, Serah is fine. She's at home with Sazh and Dajh, waiting to hear about you. We heard what happened, where have you been?"

Snow blinked when he saw Hope pop up next to Light, but that was nothing compared to the little strangled noise he made when he caught sight of the restored Vanille and Fang. "So it's true then," he looked down, his brand peaking out from under his sleeve. "I'm not dreaming. We really are l'Cie again."

Light sighed a bit and shook her head, "no, you're not, and it looks like where going to have to fight to get that peace we wanted back."

Snow sighed, shaking his head, and me moved to climb out of the hole to have a better look at the battered party. "Serah, Sazh and Dajh too… I was hoping I was wrong."

What else was she supposed to say? The look on his face wasn't one Lightning was accustomed to seeing on Snow "Don't worry, we'll put it right." It was hard to tell if her brother believed her, but he'd learned a long time ago not to underestimate the soldier.

They climbed out of the ruins, meeting up in the street, the boxer taking a moment to look Fang and Vanille over. They both gave him small smiles, trying to lift his spirits, and from the nod, it seemed to work for the most part. The small reunion was cut short however when Snow spoke up. "Once we get out of here, then we can catch up, but right now, we should help the wounded get to the ships."

Lightning nodded and turned to him, "take Fang and Vanille with you to walk the perimeter. We don't want behemoths getting curious. I'd send my men, but I think they may have their hands full trying to dig people out of their homes. Oh, and fill Snow in on the problem with our powers."

The tall man nodded, putting a hand on Vanille's shoulder and turned her around, "come on, let's go."

Vanille nodded, looking to Fang. "Well, just like old times."

The raven haired woman smirked a bit, "I suppose so, come on, we'll show the old hero up. I'm sure we all know what powers he still has. The uncanny ability to be pig headed."

"Hey! Who are you calling old!" He started as they walked away from the main camp, "aren't you like five hundred? I'm only twenty six."

"Five-hundred and nineteen, thank you very much, which makes me six year younger then you!" Vanille quipped. Light watched them leave, and then turned to head toward the commander of the other colony, to talk to him about the wounded.

"Hey!" She stopped, sighing, and she turned to look at Hope, her arms crossed over her chest."

The silver haired man stepped up to her, looking down and trying to be as adult as he could. "I'm not going to let you leave me again."

Lightning sighed a bit and looked away. Honestly, she didn't know why she was so mad. Was it because he came to her rescue and it wasn't the other way around? Was it the fact he left without a goodbye? It was deeper then that, she realized, the day that Odin had forced her to see the right path, Hope had been closer to her then anyone. She'd never dealt with the feelings she'd had when he just up and left her… The same reason she'd been so angry at Serah becoming l'Cie and getting engaged, the same feelings she had when her parents had died and forced her to be a mother to her sister way too young.

Lightning didn't like to be left behind. And no matter what affection she felt for him, it was a betrayal in her heart, someone just didn't do that to family. Hope was close to her, though she didn't really see him as a sibling, actually, she didn't know how she saw him. She only knew it hurt when he left.

The soldier glared up at him for a moment, "apologize then."

Hope frowned, his hand going to her shoulder, "for what?"

"You didn't even say goodbye," she said, her face was hard, but he noticed the tone of her voice. It was regret she was feeling; he'd heard it before.

"Light, I'm sorry… I'm really, truly sorry." He gave her a little smile and he felt her shoulders relax a bit.

"And promise me…"

"I promise," he whispered, "I'll never do it again."

She looked up at him again and nodded, moving away and toward the main tent the military had set up. "Come on, I don't know your commanding officer."

A smile came to his face and he nodded, running to catch up with her.

.:xXx:.

The trio made it out to the outpost watchtower pretty quickly, Snow leading the way, Vanille was skipping around, obviously happy to be back, while Fang walked behind them, her keen eyes open for any problems their might be, her weapon in her hand.

The red haired girl stopped just short of bumping into the fighter when he stopped, a giggle coming out of her. "Alright, we're here." The colony was tucked into a low canyon in the Northern Highplain, the mouth of the canyon was defensible, and the walls were high, backing up into the mountain that housed Mah'habara. They'd chosen that area because it was close to Cocoon, and the mines, where they would be able to get the raw materials they needed for building.

Fang stepped up next to them both and looked around. "Where's the other colony?"

Snow smiled proudly, "Oerba actually. Close enough for trade, but far enough to ensure someone lived if one of the colonies was attacked."

Vanille let out a surprised squeak, "someone is living in Oerba again? That's great!"

"Yeah, and we'll be going there soon, since there isn't much left here." The man sighed a bit and Fang came up, patting him roughly on the back.

"Now, now, don't be like that." She glanced to Vanille who grinned back at her.

"Yeah, it'll be fine, don't worry! Besides, Oerba is a nicer area… Less monsters… well you cleared the Cie'th out, right?"

"Huh?" Snow scratched his head, "oh yeah, we went and helped with that the day the other colony was started. You guys won't believe it. They fixed up all the old buildings, it looks great now, and you'd never recognize it." He put a finger up, "in fact, when Hope came to live in Beta colony, he took up residence in your old house Vanille. Bhakti is still there and working, so you can say hi to your old friend."

"Aw, Hope took my old house?"

"Yeah, he's missed you guys. But, he had some problems, and when Serah and I moved, he started living with Light. It wasn't long before he up and left for Oerba. He told me once that he had deep feelings for someone, but wouldn't tell me who. I tried to get it out of him and he blew up at me. Our relationship hasn't been the same since."

The two women exchanged glances, and Vanille giggled, jumping up and punching the air. "Right!"

He looked to them, confused, and Fang just shook her head. "It's alright, it's something that they have to figure out on their own."

"Who?" He was still confused, hadn't they been talking about Hope? Hope and someone had to make up? Did they mean him?

The red head sighed and shook her head, walking over to Fang and wrapping her hands around her upper arm, tilting her head to rest on the raven haired woman's shoulder. "Light and Hope, it's something they have to figure out. I think everyone but you have an idea of how Hope feels, but Lightning… well she's a tougher nut to crack."

Fang moved her head and looked down at the top of Vanille's head, her lips pressing to her hair. "She's right, space is the best thing to give them."

Snow nodded, "I don't want to get into Sis's business. I'll end up on the bad end of her Omega Weapon."

Both the women laughed, Fang slipped her arm around the smaller girl, her eyes gliding over the landscape. The lush grassland was now covered in debris, it was hard to even see past the immediate area, and she sighed, squeezing Vanille's shoulders affectionately before slipping away. Movement in the ash cloud had caught her attention, and she pointed to the spot, about a hundred yards away.

"Something big is coming this way, and it's not friendly, I'd wager. Snow, it seems we need to brief you on our problem sooner, rather then later."

Vanille nodded, "yeah, it seems we each have one set of abilities."

He frowned, "seriously? How am I supposed to fight?"

Fang sighed and her mark activated, red energy spreading over her. "Alright, well I'm a commando." Vanille seemed to be concentrating, and then all of a sudden a silver light engulfed her, "and Vanille is a saboteur. What about you big guy?"

Snow frowned, but the monster was too quick and he didn't have time to try his mark. As it came into view, they could tell it was a King Behemoth, not something that would normally be that big of deal, especially with their powers restored, but they were all severely handicapped.

Snow decided to just try whatever he could in the heat of battle, and as the monster charged them, using their advantage to hit it before it could retaliate, but he wasn't sure if that would help. His punches had little force behind them, and Ruin wouldn't come to his aid. He kept trying to do some damage, kicking it hard in the snout, but that seemed to be too little, too late as the behemoth moved in, attacking Vanille before she could even get a spell off, goring her with it's horn, and dropping her to the ground.

"Shit!" Fang ran at the thing, hacking at it with all her might. The behemoth, angered to have his plaything taken away, he began to attack Fang mercilessly, her health was slowly worsening, and Snow looked to her with concern. "It doesn't matter what happens to me, get Vanille!"

Snow shook his head, yellow energy finally came out of his mark, and he pushed Fang back, out of the way. "You get to her, I'll keep it back." The behemoth started to pound him with whatever it had, but Snow planted his feet and would not be moved.

The lancer took a moment to recover, then she nodded and ran to her lover, grabbing a pinch of phoenix down from the pouch on her belt, throwing it into the air. The healing energy from the feathers caused the girl to groan a bit, but her eyes fluttered. Fang picked her up, cradling her head enough to help her get a potion into her, "Vanille, you gotta get up!"

The red head sputtered, but got most of the potion into her, her wounds hurting as the liquid tried to mend the damage. She forced herself up, grabbing another potion from her pouch, drinking it down.

Snow kept the defense up, antagonizing the beast and using the damage he was taking to fuel his attacks, while Fang ran in, and started hacking at it with her Gungir. Vanille focused on taking whatever defenses the monster had down, opening breeches where fists and blade could do more damage.

Finally, the beast staggered, it's injuries getting the best of it, Vanille took a few moments to use potions to heal Snow and Fang when they needed it. Thankfully, they were able to take it down before it stood up and erased all their hard work, the three nearly collapsing when it fell, bloody, sweaty and dirty.

"That should not have been that hard," Snow managed to pant, slipping back on his rear, wiping the sweat from his eyes.

"We've lost most of our powers," Vanille lamented as Fang worked on bandaging her wound.

"Yeah, well… if there are more around, there isn't any way we can take them on alone." The three of them were pretty deadly together under most circumstances, but with Vanille weakened… they'd need everyone together to take out even moderately tough creatures. Fang finished binding Vanille and helped her up, staying close in case she couldn't walk on her own.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she waved the hovering Fang off and winced, her hand going across her stomach to help support it. "We should get back and tell Lightning. We need to get these people out of here and back to Oerba."

Snow couldn't agree more, binding his own superficial cuts, then looked to Fang, who didn't seem steady on her feet either. "This is just great, let's just hope a adamantortoise doesn't decide to wander into the town next. If I don't get home to Serah…" He sighed and shook his head, helping the wounded women the best he could.

.:xXx:.

Light and Hope made their way toward the back of the canyon where the wounded were being tended, the healthy were already getting into transports. There was a large, white tent set up as a temporary command center, which was necessary with all the buildings in ruin. The silver haired man opened the flap and let Lightning go first, though he quickly moved in front of her, approaching an older man with dark, graying hair.

"Captain Hector!" Hope called out to him, slipping his hand to the blonde's arm to make sure she stayed close. He wanted to introduce her properly, though Light just frowned a bit, unsure of what to think about the hand holding.

The man looked up from the papers he was reading and smiled a bit. "Lieutenant, it seems you've found your friends. This must be the famous Captain Farron."

Lightning scratched her cheek, looking to the older man. "I don't know about famous, sir, infamous maybe…"

He laughed and held his hand out, which Light shook, then he turned his attention to Hope. "Lieutenant Estheim, would you coordinate with Captain Farron and the others, to insure the transfer goes smoothly. We have the others at home getting ready for the influx of people, but I think it will be easier coming from the heroes of the War."

"Yes sir," he said, glancing over to Light, who seemed to he thinking about something.

The Captain continued on, "of course we'll blend the two branches together, I'd like for you to be my second in command Farron, and Estheim under you."

Lightning just nodded, not noticing the blush that seemed to creep up Hope's face. "Yes sir, I'd be happy to help."

"Thank you Captain, I know it's hard to relocate and loose your home and autonomy in the same night, but this forward colony hasn't really been needed for a couple years. Most of Cocoon's population is now in Oerba, you all should be able to come home as well."

She nodded, not sure if she agreed, but he seemed nice enough, and he seemed to want to help. She moved, glancing to Hope, wondering if they should mention the return of Fang and Vanille. She didn't know if it would really matter if they did, the two of them would stick with their group anyway, she was sure of that.

Captain Hector nodded, seemingly happy that she'd acquiesced so quickly, and with the tip of his head, he took his leave, hurrying from the tent to check on the evacuation. This left Light and Hope alone in the tent, the woman walked over to the folding table and started to rummage through the papers the Captain had been reading.

"Light!" Hope whispered loudly at her, "you shouldn't be doing that!"

She frowned, finding something suspicious. It seemed that the higher ups had known about energy spikes in Cocoon, for what seemed like years. There were graphs charting strange fluctuations ever since Alpha Colony was built. They knew something had been going on and hadn't given them any warning.

She motioned for Hope to come over, pointing to the paper. "Did you know?"

He frowned a bit and took the paper. "Know about what…" The frown deepened, and he looked over to Light. "No, they didn't tell me anything. The first I'd heard of anything was when we got the call this morning." He read the rest of the report, rubbing his forehead as he did. "They knew something was going on… for _years _they knew!"

Light put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it, giving him a little smile. "We won't say anything for right now. We'll keep quiet and figure out what's going on. Something's fishy…"

She started to leave the tent when Hope grabbed her wrist to stop her. "Wait, you believe me right? That I didn't know."

"Yes," she turned and looked at him, the expression on her face telling him he was being ridiculous. "I know you well enough to know that if any of us were in danger, you'd come running. No matter how mad you were at any of us… you'd come to help. It's that Captain I don't trust."

"He's seemed fine the three years I've been serving with him."

"Yeah, and Dysley seemed like a benevolent ruler for how many years?"

"Hmm… point taken. What's our next move?" He moved closer to her, dropping his voice in case there were people eavesdropping.

Lightning looked up at him curiously, surprised that Hope seemed to have no problem invading her personal space. That was courageous, and if it hadn't been him, also quite dangerous. She sighed softly, whispering, leaning forward so only he could hear. "You stay under me for the time being, I'll make sure you and the others are protected, and we'll figure out what's going on, and what our focus is. I think we should keep our brands from him though… he doesn't need to know that."

Hope nodded, "he's sharp though, he'll figure it out."

"We'll keep him in the dark as long as we can." She looked up at the taller man, realizing his hand was still gripping her wrist, and for some reason, a warm feeling started from her chest and radiated outward. She swallowed and went to move away, but Hope wouldn't let her.

"Light, do you know why I left when I did?"

"No, Snow wouldn't tell me… he said it was something you had to deal with on your own. Honestly, I don't think he really knew either."

Hope's green eyes turned soft, and his fingers moved down to hold her hand. He'd never touched her hand without her gloves on, and at that moment, he became acutely aware of her lack of proper clothing, the tips of his fingers brushed her palm, and she jerked a bit in surprise, her eyes half lidded as she looked down at some point on his tunic. "Light… I…" He was losing his nerve, but he steeled himself about to confess his darkest secret to her, but he was interrupted but a large impact tremor shaking the tent.

"Damn," she muttered, grabbing one of the guns that was laying on a table nearby, obviously there in case of an emergency, and she ran out, followed closely by Hope. She was shocked to come out and see a group of five, strange people looking right at her.

The huge, tan man with green hair pointed a finger at her, turning his hand over to beckon her closer to him. "L'Cie, I would speak with you."

She harrumphed, there went keeping that a secret, though the question did come up, how did this weird guy know?

"Just who are you?" she barked, Hope was right behind her, so close that she could feel his body heat, and she had to force the smile away from her face. She wasn't sure why she was smiling, but she'd figure that out later.

The massive man made a sound in his throat that sounded like rocks rubbing together, and he motioned the others closer, so she could get a better look at them. Her eyes went to one, nude, woman, and for some reason, she felt some sort of connection.

"I am Titan, we Pulsian fal'Cie need your help… and we are here to aid your fight against the Lindzei."


	3. Questions and Answers

_**Final Fantasy XIII: The Storm War**_

All right, the rewrite of this story is actually getting pretty good reviews, which makes me nervous. I don't want to disappoint anyone, but EtherTwist had a very good point, there isn't any reason to stress myself out over something that is supposed to be fun for me. I hope you all enjoy this story, but if this isn't fun for me, there really isn't much point. Anyway, there's some fluff in this chapter!

I don't own anything it's copyright Squeenix.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Questions and Answers**

Light just sort of stared at the group of fal'Cie, unsure of what to do, or what to say. They said they wanted to help, but how different were they really from the Sanctum? She was sure that they would just be used, like they had before, it didn't matter who they were.

"Look, I don't care who you are, we can handle whatever it is, alone."

Titan looked to the others, then the dark skinned woman step forward. "I am Anima, if you do not wish the help of the others, at least allow me to stay. You're powers are impeded, as I am, my abilities are lacking. You will find battle not a simple thing, however if I am close, I may be able to help with that."

Lightning frowned and was about to take her confusion and aggression out on Anima, yet again, but Hope grabbed her, his bare arms closing around her to keep her immobile. Only then did she really become aware that the Lieutenant was only in a tank top. She could feel his heartbeat against her back, his impressively muscled chest rising and falling with his quickened breathing. His chin was now resting on top of her head and the nineteen-year-old man was more then strong enough now to keep her in place with the leverage he held. "Hope, let me go!"

"We should listen to what they have to say. Anima is here, and will speak with us… she should know our focus." His head bent down to whisper in her ear, his breath warm, sending a shudder through her. He let her go, and walked around her, so all she had was a view of his broad back, covered only in a dark brown sleeveless shirt and matching pants.

She stepped forward and put a hand between Hope's shoulder blades, peaking around his broad shoulders, feeling quite small and frail despite her independent personality. She could feel her wounds seeping again; her side was burning and aching, causing her temper flare. "Fine, we'll listen, for now." She glared at the group of fal'Cie, studying them. The tall, winged one had a small girl on his shoulders, and he reminded her of Dahaka, the fal'Cie they'd fought at Taijin's Tower. The girl, she didn't know, but the round little man was probably Atomos.

Anima took the time to step closer; Light took her trepidation as fear of her own, aforementioned weakness, not regret for what was happening to them again. Fal'Cie were creatures without feelings. They were dead things, going through their motions like automatons. Seeing them thusly, it was disconcerting. She wanted to see them as humans, when that was anything but the case. The being that turned them into l'Cie looked to Lightning and Hope, her crystal eyes sharp, if not devoid of warmth. She didn't know if it was the nature of her, or if it was just the color.

"We will be staying with you, until you complete your focus."

"Wait," Hope finally spoke up, his hand moving to rest against Light's bandaged midriff, the simple touch reminding her that she was painfully under dressed. It was fortunate that he'd done that though; because it distracted her long enough for the man to speak and not have her go throttle the lot of them. She grimaced at the dirty trick. The Lieutenant glanced at her for a moment before looking back to Anima. "Why don't you just tell us what it is? It isn't the same, is it? If it was, then we would have turned to crystal the moment Cocoon exploded."

"You misunderstand, your focus wasn't to destroy Cocoon; it was to save the people there from fal'Cie rule."

Lightning blinked then, her gaze going to the Pulse fal'Cie, "so is our focus the same?"

"I can not tell you. That is your job, to interpret the intent of the Universe. The way a focus is given is a complicated thing. I give the intent, but the way it is carried out depends on the state of things. It is the Sanctum fal'Cie that now push you into another war. Barthanelus has slain our Queen… the Goddess is dead. We are as mortal as you now, and only retain a fraction of our powers."

Hope frowned at Anima, moving his arm so Light wouldn't be constrained. "Barthandlus killed your Goddess? Why is that our problem? Shouldn't you battle and kill each other? We were free!"

"No, you are forever mine, even if I lift the brand."

The lieutenant held his arm out, removing the glove that held his manadrive to bare his mark. "Remove it."

"I can not Hope Estheim. You will need your powers to fight Barthandelus and the others."

Lightning stepped forward then, gripping the gun in her hand. This conversation was taking a turn for the worse, and she could tell Hope was getting just as annoyed as she was. "What others?"

"The Goddess revived all the fal'Cie, the Pulsian and Lindzei alike, and because of Barthandelus' betrayal, we all now bear this human form. As you saw with Barthandelus' human skin, we all at one time could transform. It was a gift from the Goddess so that we could earn the faith and trust of you humans. Over the years, everyone but Barthandelus lost the ability, or didn't care enough to use it. Once, we each cared for a tribe of humans here, on Gran Pulse. We understand now, that we are not needed, and this war of his design will happen, and we do not wish to cause more loss. You will be our swords, and we will be your shields."

Titan stepped forward then, his handsome face impassive, "we will stay with you until you complete your focus," he reiterated, "and we will help you fight the others. They are numerous, even with our help you may not win."

"Tch," Lightning turned from them, looking up at Hope. She still wondered when he became a head taller then she was. She looked over her shoulder and crossed her arms, her messy, pink hair slipping into her eyes. "What good is a miracle if you don't make it happen yourself." She looked to her companion again and sighed, "we need to find the others. Your Captain has everything under control for the moment, I don't think we're needed." They were already getting strange looks from the refugees, and she sighed. "Titan, go to the Faultwarrens. We'll meet you there once we find everyone. We have marks again, we'll use the teleport stone in the Haerii Archeaopolis."

He seemed annoyed, but he nodded in a haughty way and moved, all of them jumping up to the top of the plateau. That must have been the tremor from earlier, a gang of fal'Cie jumping down, off of ninety foot cliffs. She frowned a bit and looked to Hope. He seemed just as disgruntled, and she reached out, placing her hand on his wrist, just above his gloves. "Come on, let's find the others… wasn't Damish supposed to get me a uniform?"

Hope nodded, and moved to find Snow and the girls when he noticed Lightning sway a bit. He moved next to her, just in time to catch her as she fell. He scooped her up, letting her lay against his shoulder. He could feel through the thin tank top that she was burning up, and his brow furrowed. "Light, you're injured worse then you're letting on."

"I'm fine," she said softly, and he frowned more, moving back toward where the tents were set up, finding one that was empty and had mats down for treating the wounded. She could complain all she wanted, but he wasn't going to back down this time. He pulled his coat off of her as gently as he could, laying her back onto the mat. She was rapidly losing strength, so she didn't put up much of a fight.

He grabbed one of the med-packs lying around, and pulled her nightshirt up, being careful not to expose her chest and rile her up. At this point, she was just letting him tend her wounds; he wasn't going to jeopardize that advantage. He started to cut the bandages away, when he felt her hand move to rest on top of his.

"Hope," she said softly, her blue eyes opening again, "you're hands are shaking."

He swallowed and blinked, calming down as best he could. "I'm worried about you." He finished cutting through the gauze, his hands more sure, and he peeled it back. She gasped at the pain, her stomach muscles clenching involuntarily. The medic was worried by what he saw. The wound was angry and red, the center was starting to puss, telling him that either there was something in the wound he hadn't seen before, or it was already starting to infect. With all the remedy and cure spells he'd put in her, he was beginning to think something was in the wound. Everything had been so dirty and dark when he found her he'd probably missed something.

"Lightning," he said softly, his hand moving to rest against her flat belly to brace her and keep her down, the other hand moving to the wound. "I think you've got something stuck in your side, it's going to hurt, but I need to get it out." She winced a bit, but nodded, closing her eyes to brace herself, and then Hope took a breath and slipped his finger into the puncture, causing the strawberry blond to let out a little cry, her eyes squeezing shut. She was biting down on her lip so hard she was breaking the skin. He shifted onto his knees and straddled her hips, using his thighs to keep her down, his other hand caressing her cheek. Using his teeth he pulled his glove off, setting the manadrive down, then gave her the leather. "Bite down on this…" She managed to understand, and when he put the glove in her mouth her hand shot out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it with all her strength. He was trying to feel around, for anything foreign, and after a few more moments, he found something. His hand was slick with blood now, and he was having a hard time grabbing it, but he managed to get another finger into the hole without tearing the muscle more, and pulled the nail out. It was the kind that was used to assemble houses, and in the explosion it must have been driven into her side with enough force to get buried.

Hope immediately started pumping cure spells right into the wound, and he was glad to see this time, the wound was covering over. His heart was pounding in his chest and he closed his eyes as he casted another spell, his head sinking a bit, his breath erratic. He hated hurting her, and it seemed since his return, that was all he'd managed to do. He tried to steady his nerves when he felt her thumb brush his cheek, and he opened his eyes, realizing tears had slipped free and he hadn't even noticed it.

"That isn't what you think," he mumbled, only causing her to grunt in an amused way. Hope looked down at her, seeing the color returning to her cheeks made him feel better.

"I'm alright, thanks to you." Some strange, warm feeling was spreading over her, looking up at him, wearing very little… it was like lust or something, but that was absurd. This was Hope, and while he wasn't a kid anymore, it was still _Hope_. Those fluttery feelings she was having in the pit of her stomach weren't allowed. The way he was looking at her though, like he was going to lose her, it tore at her heart.

He just watched her, and then he leaned forward, brushing his lips against her cheek. "Light, I want to tell you why I had to leave."

"You had something you had to deal with," she muttered, suppressing the pleasant shudder that wanted to run through her body.

"I couldn't see you every day and want you like I did when I could get you in trouble."

She blinked, and despite being tired and in pain, she moved his face to look in her eyes. "Want me? Hope, I'm twenty six."

"So is Snow," he said softly, "and you let him marry your sister.

"She wasn't fourteen…"

"Light, give me a chance to prove…"

"No, Hope, I'm not going to risk my job, and yours, because you have hormone issues when I'm around."

"It isn't hormones Lightning," he said, his voice growing angry, "it isn't because I want to have you, then leave. I want to be the one that makes you smile like Serah does. I want to be your Snow. I want to be the one that won't let you down, that stays by your side, no matter what."

"Hope, I'm not Serah. The love and wonder that she has, it's dead in me, it has been for a long time."

The silver haired man shook his head, moving his hand to touch her cheek gently, the honesty in his eyes was both wondrous and uncomfortable for her. "I don't believe that Light… I don't believe your heart is dead. I saw your face, when we were finally free, when Serah was returned. You were happy, and I'm sorry that we all moved and left you alone… I didn't know you'd turn back to your cold ways. If I'd known, I'd never left."

She frowned and pushed him, he wasn't ready for her strength, which had recovered with all the healing magic, and she sat up, grabbing him by the collar. "It's been years, don't come back and act like you know what I've gone through. I've given up on happiness; get that through your skull. There isn't anything you can do, and you'd be better off finding some young woman and being with her. I'm damaged goods, and I always have been."

The look on his face wasn't one of anger, it was sadness, and it deflated her fury a bit. She sighed, and let him go, scooting away, her hand supporting the scab on her side. "Look, Hope, I can't give you want you need."

"You're wrong Lightning," he said softly. "You already do, just by living. I love you, more then anyone and anything, if I can never be with you, fine, but I won't be with anyone else either. I'll at least be with you in your misery."

She didn't know whether or not to punch him, her hand balling up and her anger apparent. He then did something that she hadn't been expecting. He invaded her personal space again, leaning in to brush his lips against hers. She sucked in a startled breath and he pressed in, determined to show her what she was missing, or die trying.

She moved her hands against his chest to shove him back, but his hand went to the side of her face and caressed her skin. She sighed into it, her body responding to him, even if her mind was screaming at her to stop.

When a few minutes had passed, he pulled back, looking down at the flushed Lightning. Her cheeks were the same color as her wild hair. "Just a chance, if I can't show you that you are deserving of love, then I'll never bother you again."

"I can't lose you," she whispered, even if it didn't sound like she'd intended, he understood, and he reached up and squeezed her shoulder before moving back, getting to his feet to go wash the blood away.

"You won't, no matter what, I'll always be your friend." He smiled just a bit, his green eyes boring into her. Lightning swallowed, uncomfortable and cold all of a sudden without him nearby, and she frowned, annoyed at the weakness she was showing.

She reached up and poked him in the forehead, her face turning impassive again. "Get me some clothes," she groused, earning a little chuckle from him.

"Aye Captain," he said cheekily, turning to leave the tent. Once he got outside, he let out a shaky breath. It hadn't gone as well as he'd hoped, but it had been better then he feared. She hadn't bashed his skull in, which was a bonus. He rubbed the spot she'd poked him, "at least," he whispered to himself, "she didn't punch me…"

.:xXx:.

Snow, Vanille and Fang made it back to the Colony pretty quickly, especially since the pugilist had to carry Vanille most of the way. They needed to find Hope, based on what Fang had told him, they knew he was their medic, even thought they still didn't know what powers Lightning had access too. The red head lying in his arms was trying to stay upbeat, he could tell, she was smiling and jabbering on about everything that had happened while they were sleeping, wanting to know all the details. Fang had told her a few times to save her strength, but she insisted that she was fine, a cure spell would put her 'right as rain.'

"Snow?" He looked down to Vanille as they crossed through the gate into the settlement and she smiled softly.

"Yeah?"

"You and Serah have any babies yet?"

He frowned a bit, and cleared his throat, obviously not comfortable with the question. However it wasn't his way to not be honest. "No, not yet. We're trying, but nothing yet."

"Maybe you aren't trying enough!"

Fang chuckled at the look of indignation on Snow's face. "Vanille, you aren't supposed to tell a guy that."

"Why not? It would make sense, if you want a baby, and don't have one, that you'd do whatever you could to make it happen."

"We do 'it' plenty, Vanille," he frowned a bit, changing the subject. "Where do you think Hope took Sis?"

"Probably those tents, she needed some healing after her house fell on her." Fang pointed back, and he nodded, starting toward the back of the settlement. Vanille was finally being quiet and resting, he looked down to check on her and she gave him a tiny smile.

"We'll be there soon," he said, trying not to jostle her too much.

"Kay!" She chirped, and he looked to Fang. He could tell she was worried, and despite her attempts to seem chipper. It only took a few minutes to make it to the area the military had set aside for the dead and wounded. Snow tried not to look at the pile of people they'd lost, not wanting to recognize anyone. Everyone he loved was back at the other Colony, other then Light, and they knew she was all right.

Fang moved in front and lead the way, sensing the tension rising in the fighter, indecision clouding his ability to lead. Snow fell into step behind her, keeping his eyes on Fang's back rather then looking at the causalities.

Luckily for them, they came across the command tents, and spotted Hope standing outside a smaller triage unit, obviously put aside for commanders and the like. They could plan and be treated at the same time. The silver haired young man saw them about the same time Snow called his name, he looked up, startled, but when his eyes came across Vanille, he immediately moved toward them.

"What happened?" He frowned up at the blond man, though he didn't wait for an answer and he immediately started pumping cure spells into Vanille.

"Behemoth King," Snow said softly, "we barely defeated it."

After a few more spells, the young woman was standing on her own, even though Fang had her arm around her shoulders to make sure it stayed that way, the two men stepped off to the side while Fang changed the bandage on Vanille and checked on how well the wounds had healed. Snow and Hope had their back to the girls while Fang fussed; the older man took the opportunity study his silver haired friend.

"What's wrong with you? I figured you'd be used to this l'Cie thing by now."

Hope blinked and looked up, taking a minute for the question to sink in. "Huh? No, that isn't what's bothering me… it's Light."

"Sis? What'd she do now?"

"It wasn't her, it was me… and I'm sorta scared to go back in there now."

"In where? The tent? Light's in the tent?"

Hope sighed a bit and nodded, glad they were out of earshot now. "There was a nail in her side, that was why she wasn't healing right. I got it out, she should be alright now… but…" His face flushed red and Snow looked confused for a moment. Why was he blushing? Then the conversation he'd had with the girls came back to him, something Hope and Lightning had to work out on their own…

"What, did you kiss her?"

Hope's mouth dropped open, shocked that the rather thick guy caught on immediately. Well, other then Fang and Vanille, he was the most experienced when it came to dating.

Snow snorted, "stop looking at me with your mouth all agape, something is going to fly in." The younger man snapped his mouth shut and glared, only eliciting a chuckle from the blond.

"What, there isn't anything thing wrong with that, right? You're almost twenty, Light's only twenty-six… and she's hot. Not as hot as Serah, she frowns too much, but I'd do her."

Hope frowned and tried to resist the urge to punch Snow, and the older man recognized that look immediately. "Not that I have or anything, I'm completely loyal to my wife. Wait a second…" He poked the mage in the chest. "It's not just lust, is it? Hope…" he sighed, scratching his head. "I don't know if you can get that sort of emotion out of her. She's not as bad as he used to be, don't get me wrong, but Serah says she's always been kinda a loner, and being here, alone, for three years… I think it got to her."

Hope sighed, his shoulders dropping a bit, "it's my fault, but back then, I was all hormones and living with her, seeing her all the time, every day, and not able to tell her how I felt… it did me in."

"Yeah, I get that, but your mom told me to watch out for you. I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't warn you."

"Yeah, I know, thanks Snow, but I don't know if I can give up on her yet. You never gave up on Serah, and she was basically dead. Light's alive and hurting, and I have to make it right."

"Fair enough," he said with a smirk, patting Hope on the back. "Honestly, I hope you can get her to let her hair down, I… Serah worries about her all the time."

Hope chuckled, "well you can tell Serah, I won't give up."

Snow laughed, "Well, I hope… that you can give her hope…"

The silver haired man started laughing, punching Snow in the arm. "Oh I plan to give her all the hope I can, don't you worry." He grinned mischievously at the older man, wagging his eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh, don't I know it." Snow snorted a bit, and then moved to rub his arm. "Ouch, when did you get so strong?"

"Oh, about the same time I got to be as tall as you."

The fighter shook his head and motioned for Hope to follow. "I think we should find Damish and get those clothes for Light."


	4. Breaking Peace

_**Final Fantasy XIII: The Storm War**_

Well, here is chapter 4; I hope everyone is enjoying himself or herself! As normal, I don't own anything, and reviews are welcome, as are polite and helpful critics. I wrote most of this listening to "Hope's Theme" full blast while my sister watched "Grey's Anatomy" so sorry if you can tell. I don't own anything, well Damish… I made him up lol.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Breaking Peace**

Lighting sighed as Hope left the tent, her eyes remaining on the entrance long after she heard Snow call to him, and he took off. Hopefully, he'd at least been able to clean his hands. She didn't feel comfortable with her blood on him, she'd told him years ago that she'd protect him, and here he was, older, passionate and trying to save her. He wanted to give her something she'd lost when the last of her friends abandoned her… he wanted to give her back hope.

"Ugh," she grunted, flopping back down to the mat, her hands going over her eyes. His mother was an interesting woman, from what he'd told her, and to name a boy Hope, it wasn't normal. She'd known a girl named Hope back in Bodhum, but never a boy. When she'd met him, she was angry and driven, and had said some things that she regretted later. Somehow, during the journey, he'd gotten the hope he'd lost back. It wasn't just his name, and from what she could see now, he hadn't lost it…

But from the conversation earlier, maybe his father hadn't been the person to give it back after all. Or even if he was the reason, Hope's father was long dead, why was he so earnest and dedicated now, to her of all people? The healer had said something about being her Snow, and as absurd as it sounded, she understood the intent.

Snow never gave up that they would get Serah back. Even when she was in the depths of despair, and took out her frustration and sadness on him, he didn't waver. Later, after their first confrontation with Barthandelus, and his belief was shaken, he still held onto Serah for support. Even when they were so far away, and so far from their goal, worrying if they'd make it through the next day without turning Cieth, he still would take that crystal out of his pocket and look into it, telling her about the monsters they'd slain and the scenery they'd seen. Snow was far from perfect, but when it came to his love for her sister, he was.

Now Hope wanted to be that person she could cling too, to believe in, and the person to believe in her. He wanted to love her…

But Lightning just wasn't like that. She didn't know how to be the kind of person that someone would love. She was pretty sure it was even hard for Serah to love her sometimes, how could troubled, tormented Hope deal with her in a romantic capacity? Why was she even thinking about this?

It was true, that part of her was jealous of her sister. It was true that Snow was pretty clueless most of the time, but he was a good guy. If he hadn't been, then there was no way she would have been the maid of honor at the wedding. She shuddered at the memory of frilly blue dresses and high heels, but even then, Hope had just turned fifteen by the time they could actually have the wedding, and he'd asked to dance with her. She didn't think anything about it since Snow had danced her even, flinging her around the floor like a buffoon, but their dance had been very different the her others that night. Hope had been very nervous and couldn't look up at her. He danced slowly, despite the quicker tempo of the music, and he was nervous… his hand hadn't stopped shaking the whole time.

A year later, he'd moved in with her, but that hadn't lasted long. Maybe, if she'd paid attention back then, she could have stopped this. Now, as it was, Hope was going to go through life pining for her, wanting something she couldn't give, yet wanted for him. He was her friend, a confidant; she wanted him to be happy. Something, she was sure, he'd never find attaching his heart to her. She had no idea how to focus him elsewhere.

They'd be close now, with the head honchos back in Beta deciding that the forward colony wasn't needed. In fact, she had nowhere to stay. She didn't want to stay with Snow and Serah, that would be weird, and she wanted absolutely no knowledge of her sister's sex habits, especially not with Snow. She was sure that Sazh would insist on Fang and Vanille staying with him, he was always the closest to Vanille, and wherever she went, Fang went as well. So that left her, alone again, and probably bunking with Hope. Sweet little Hope, who wasn't little at all anymore, and had one of those swimmer's bodies she'd liked in high school. Serah was always a football groupie, which explained her attraction to the group's pugilist, but Lighting always had it bad for swimmers or soccer players. Tall, muscular and lean was how she liked them…

Really, grown up Hope was just her type. Light hair, green eyes, pouty lips… just her type, which was way her body betrayed her when he got too close.

Lightning let out an annoyed sigh, trying to force herself to stop thinking of that kiss. In all honesty, she'd never been kissed like that before. She'd been kissed, sure, she'd even been intimate with a few guys, she was in her mid twenties, and it was her life, but never once had she felt so… cherished. Her hand moved to touch her lips and she let out a happy sigh before she could stop herself.

There was a knock on the tent after that, the strawberry blond blinked and looked over, not moving from her spread out position on the mat. She was tired, blood loss was a factor in that she was sure, and she hurt. "Come in," she said, making sure she was at least covered.

"Yo Sis," Snow alerted her to his presence in the easiest way, by yelling, and he walked in, looking down at the prostrated Lightning. "You doing alright? Hope went to wash his hands finally, he told me to bandage you up. Fang's taking care of Vanille in one of the other tents, so everything should be fine." He held up a bag with a spare uniform, and she sat up and grabbed it, biting back the pained groan that wanted to escape.

"Hey now, easy Light, you shouldn't reopen that wound again. Let me bandage you up."

"It's fine Snow, I can take care of myself."

"Hey Sis-"

"I am not you sister." She watched the pained look run over his features and she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm sorry Snow, it's just been… a stressful day."

"I know, it's alright, but let me bandage you up."

She sighed and nodded, moving her shirt up again and Snow came and sat next to her on the floor. "Hope must have been spooked to run out without finishing the binding."

"I think he had other things on his mind."

"Yes, I guess your right." He smeared ointment on her skin and she realized that while it wasn't unpleasant at all, it didn't come with those warm feelings she'd experienced when Hope had tended her. Snow was attractive, and having him nearby didn't make her warm and fuzzy in the least. Why was it just Hope?

Light must have been frowning up a storm because Snow put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to turn to look at him. "Hope told me, he needed some guy advice. He really cares about you, would it be so bad to have someone other then Serah to lean on?"

"I don't even lean on Serah," she said, her demeanor grumpy. Snow sighed a bit and leaned forward, touching the tip of his finger to her chin.

"Let me tell you something, when we were all together, fighting Barthandelus, then Orphan, and we almost lost everyone, you said we had to stick together. That is what friends do. I know your belief in that started to wane when Vanille and Fang didn't come back, but that doesn't matter. Even if we aren't together, we're still family. I know I'm not the most comfortable person for you to talk to, but you and Hope have always had a bond. Don't pushed him away because you're scared of being hurt again."

"Tch," she looked away as the large man started bandaging her side. It was true, wasn't it? She wasn't really so alone, the moment something bad had happened, both Hope and Snow had come to help her, and she had been so worried about Fang and Vanille when she found out Cocoon had shattered.

Snow must have seen the change in her expression, and he smiled a little. Not the normal, shit eating grin she always wanted to punch off his face, this was the kind of look only his family could get. "Fine," Lightning said softly, "your right. Hope was a kid, he was confused, now he's a man, and a fine officer. If there is anyone I could lean on, it would be him."

"Ouch Sis," Snow chuckled, clutching his chest, over his heart, "you sure know how to wound a guy."

"Not at all, you have to take care of my sister, I can't lean on you… Serah and my future niece or nephew will take all your time." She smiled a little, the cold façade she always put up slipping away to show the real Light underneath. "Did Hope tell you what he said?"

The blond shook his head, fastening the bandage so it didn't unravel, then pulled the tape out to secure it. "No, just that he kissed you and figured he was lucky to be alive."

"He wants to be my 'Snow.' He said that, he wants to be like you, can make me feel protected and loved, like Serah is with you."

He blinked, looked back up to Lightning. She was watching him, her clear, blue eyes curious. "I think you should let him."

She laughed a bit, rubbing her face with her hand. "I'm not my sister, I don't need protecting."

"Light, everyone needs protecting, sometimes. Look, you got buried under a house. Could you have gotten yourself out?" The Captain frowned a bit, her hand going to her side, and then she felt Snow's gloved hand cover hers in a familial gesture. "I'm not saying fall into his arms this second, even with me and Serah, it took awhile, and when she was branded, I knew I couldn't take my time anymore. I had to make her as happy as I could in the time we had." He moved his arm, his coat arm slipping down and showing the brand, "We're running out of time again, and we don't even know if there will be someone to let us out of the crystal stasis when this is all over."

The strawberry blond pushed him roughly on the shoulder. "You're getting pessimistic in your old age. You can't tell me to believe in something, then turn around and lose faith."

"Yeah, you're right… it'll be fine. But, you should still give Hope a chance. Serah would be happy to know that you're happy."

"I can't promise anything but… it does feel good to have you guys back. I can't wait to see how much Dajh has grown"

"Oh, he's huge, you'll never recognize him. Anyway Sis," he moved the bag next to her, "Hope sorta filled me in on the fal'Cie problem, but I think we should go get Fang and Vanille, and you can tell us what's going on. We need to get back to Oerba soon, at least to get Sazh and Serah, but we need a game plan… so get dressed." He grinned and her and winked, rolling up to his feet with a grunt and heading for the door. "We'll be waiting outside."

.:xXx:.

Lightning was quick getting dressed, glad to be out of her dirty nightclothes, feeling much more in control with a uniform on. They'd even managed to find her weapon, so with it's reassuring weight lightly bumping against the back of her thighs, she walked out of the tent, strength in her step.

She saw the others, not too far away, obviously waiting for her. "Alright, Hope and I spoke with a few fal'Cie, we've got a lot to talk about."

The other three looked as if they'd seen a ghost, but Hope spoke up. "The Pulsian fal'Cie, they're all in human form…"

"Like Dysley, they want us to meet up with them. It seems the Sanctum fal'Cie are back too. We didn't get all the details, but Titan is expecting us to come and hear the rest."

Fang frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well, the more important question is did they tell ya what our focus is?"

Hope sighed softly, "Anima said we have to figure that out on our own."

Vanille frowned, "Anima huh? She's even back?"

Snow took in a deep breath, "we need to get back to Beta first. We can't go talk to them without Sazh and Serah."

Lightning nodded, "we'll use the Mah'habara entrance Cieth stone. We have to talk about the military commanders too, but not here. There's something else going on, but for now, we get the others, and get to Haerii."

Snow put a hand on Light's shoulder, "you gonna be okay Sis? Mah'habara is close, but the monsters are all riled up, and we have a fraction of our powers."

"I know that, but we can't just stand here and do nothing. If Barthandelus is back, and he has a bunch of fal'Cie with him, then we need to beat him and keep our people safe." She shrugged the hand away and turned to a rubble pile not far from where they were standing. In a flash of purple light, the swordswoman blasted it back with a Thunder spell. "I'm the Ravanger, Hope's the medic." She looked to the other three.

Snow scratched the back of his head, "Sentinel."

Fang nodded, "I'm a Commando, Vanille's the Saboteur."

Lightning nodded, "that makes Sazh our Synergist."

Snow crossed his arms over his chest. "Serah never manifested powers, you think she's still that way?"

"Who knows, but honestly, I'm hoping for a Medic, we could use another one. All right, we need all the packs, bandages, potions and Shrouds we can find. We all stick together, and we all protect Hope."

"Light, I can take care of myself." She turned to look into his frowning face and she sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I know you can, but you're our Medic. We need you to patch us up if something happens. You stick with Snow."

"I'm staying with you…" he started to protest and she shook her head.

"No, you stay with Snow, he can protect you while the rest of us fight."

"You're injured, Vanille is injured…"

"That's right, and you're the only one that can fix us up when we fall. You're with Snow, Fang, Vanille, you're with me."

"Captain!" They all turned to see the young Damish running up to them with several packs. "The commanding officer said that if you're going to be a fool and go on foot, you'd need these." Light took the bags and saw all the field supplies they would need. She nodded to the boy, and he smiled and ran off, while the strawberry blond handed the packs out. Once they were ready, the motley crew made their way out of the ruins, toward Mah'habara. Lightning stopped at the gate and looked back, sighing softly.

"Another set of ruins." She was beginning to feel like all they did was leave destruction in their wake.

.:xXx:.

A blond boy watched from the bluff over the entrance to the great Mah'habara, his liquid gold eyes taking in the sights. He'd gone on alone, he was always alone so it didn't bother him, but he needed to talk to the l'Cie. Orphan, now devoid of Barthandelus, and the silence that had drove him mad, was humming a tune, laying on his belly in the grass, his feet kicking up tiny flowers and crystal dust. The devastation was wide, and the area he was playing in wasn't devoid of it, but the death of Cocoon, the true death of that cursed shell… that prison, had put him in far too good a mood to care about some dead monsters and squished flowers.

His long hair hung in his eyes, he looked to be maybe fourteen, he wasn't tall, and he was very lean, his black robes hung on his frame like tents. Not even the belts around his waist could add much shape, and he was running around without shoes, his feet were cut up, but he didn't seem to realize it.

The Forgotten One had heard Phoenix talking to Kujata about moving into Oerba to capture their one l'Cie, which meant that the others were probably l'Cie again too. He wanted to see them. He bore them no ill will really, they had granted his one dream, to be free, and he didn't regret siding with their leader against the Goddess. He didn't want to be in another prison, he wanted to run. He wanted to thank them, and maybe give them the mercy killing they had given him. They were malformed l'Cie, missing vital parts of themselves. They wouldn't be able to stand against Barthandelus as they were, it would be kinder to let them leave this world as free creatures.

He heard movement down in the canyon, and it only took a few moments for him to see them. It wasn't all of them, but the pink haired girl, Lightning, was there, as was the two that made Ragnarok, and two of the men. He smiled and got to his feet, hopping down to the valley below.

.:xXx:.

The group had managed the twenty-minute walk only encountering a severely wounded chocobo, and a cactaur that ran away when they got too close. Lighting was starting to actually think they would make it without a fight, until they entered the narrow part of the canyon, right before going underground, and she stopped, putting her hand out to halt Fang in her tracks.

"What?" She asked, and the strawberry blond pointed to her ears. The brunette stopped and started to listen, her eyes getting wide when she picked up the humming. It was ethereal and unreal, something like the crystal song, the tuneless hum that came from a person in crystal stasis.

Light didn't have a chance to say anything, a boy, about the size of Hope when she first met him, came around the corner, his long, blond hair fell in cascades around his feet, dragging behind him as he walked. His skin was pale, his eyes pupiless, only molten gold seemed to swirl within. He was pretty, enough to be a girl, and yet at the same time, masculine. He wore a simple, cotton, black robe with several, mismatched golden belts cinching it in at the waist. He wore no shoes, and his hands were gloveless. He almost seemed to be floating until she realized he was walking on the tips of his toes.

"Who are you?" She called, her sword already in her hand from the walk over, and she could sense the two women behind her tense as well.

"Who am I?" The boy whispered, even in speech he was musical, "that is a good question, my dear, dear Claire. I am the end; I am the beginning, the forgotten one, and the lonely one. I am the one that you released from life in an act of mercy." He grinned at her, and she recognized him instantly. "I am Orphan, your father, brother, son, lover and killer. I have come to pay you the same mercy that you paid to me."

In an instant, the boy jumped forward, clearing the thirty feet between them, on reflex Lightning swiped out, but she was too slow, and Orphan was on her before Fang or Vanille could even do anything. His hands went around her neck, and he was squeezing. "Don't worry, it won't take long, and you'll just sleep. I could break your neck, but then you might just be a vegetable."

Fang swung with all her might, trying to knock him away as Vanille tried to take his protections away the best she could. He wouldn't move.

A few heartbeats went by, and Lightning was beginning to see black spots in her vision, when something full body tackled the fal'Cie, knocking him enough for her to get her arm free. She sliced up, not even thinking, connecting with her sword, and she pumped a thunder spell straight into the weapon. The grip loosened, and she took a gasp of air, then she saw Snow come in, punching the kid in the head and knocking him away. She scrambled to her feet, but Orphan was up already, an insane smile on his face.

Only then did she realize the person that had tackled the boy was Hope, and now Orphan was standing on his chest, digging his foot into her savior's neck. "Fine, fine," he sang, a mad giggle erupting out of this throat, "I can start with him."

"No!" She cried, bringing her hand up. The spell bounced off Orphan, doing very little damage. "Vanille! Get him!"

"I'm on it!" She called, waving her fingers at him, chanting the words to the spell. The shell didn't come down, so she tried again, but nothing.

Fang and Lightning looked to each other, then to Snow, and the three ran for Orphan, the large man hitting the boy's small boy with all the force in his shoulder, knocking him back. Fang and Light were right on top of him then, but he had a protection up for physical attacks as well, and no matter how hard she tried to hit him, her sword did very little damage. They couldn't fight him; they didn't have the strength to do it.

"Children!" They heard a woman call behind them, "to me!" Lightning turned to see Anima, her long hair was waving around violently, even though there was no wind. She wasn't expecting a tendril of hair to strike up, hitting her hard in the chest. She felt the power surge through her, going to her muscles, and her mind, more spells appearing there. A piece of hair struck each of them, connecting with their marks. The burning sensation of the brand expanding filled her being with pain for a few seconds, and then she was fine. All of them were up now, and she smirked.

"Orphan, how about we take you up on your offer, only we'll be your angels of death… again." Lightning realized Anima had gone down behind them, but the fight was more important right then, and she used her new power rush to jump into the battle. Fang and Vanille were both casting to take his protections down, Hope was up and casting blizzaga, centered on Orphan, to go off the moment the magic barrier came down.

Lightning ran forward, subconsciously switching to commando, she, Snow and Hope would get this one. "Once the barriers are down, get to Anima. We've got this."

When the final protection fell, the two lovers ran back up the path toward Anima, and Lightning addressed the two men with her. "Relentless Assault formation," she said firmly, the other two nodding, light coming from their marks as they switched their roles.

Orphan was not happy, "this was going to be quick and painless. Now, I will have to shed blood, but if this the way you want it… then this is the way it shall be!"

"We gotta win this one," Snow said solemnly, and Hope nodded in agreement.

Light didn't wait another second and she jumped in, bringing her fire charged sword down on the boy, forcing him back, into the epicenter of Hope's quake. Snow watched as the fal'Cie went to his knees, and he came in, kicking him in the gut, sending him crashing back into the wall. Orphan picked himself back up, but he was bleeding from the corner of his mouth, and he looked really angry. He raised his hand, about to cast Imperil when a girl jumped down between him and the l'Cie, her teal ponytails bouncing as she hit, her frilly, white dress blowing at the wind that kicked up around her. Her black eyes went to Lightning, a red jewel glittered on her forehead, underneath her bangs. She looked around Dajh's age, but her eyes didn't hold the same sort of love and wonder.

"Stop," she commanded, looking back to Orphan. "Barthandelus is looking for you. Go, now."

The blond boy looked to Lightning, "this isn't over."

The young girl was ignoring him, when he disappeared back over the cliff, she looked back to them, "I am Carbuncle, and not all Sanctum fal'Cie wish harm to humans. I cared and fed you all, not because I had to, but because I wanted too. Just because my tribe was taken to Cocoon, that did not mean I should abandon them." She glanced to Hope, then to the others, before going the way Orphan had, leaping straight into the air, and landing a hundred feet above them.

Snow let out a breath, his hand going to his head. They all felt light-headed, the power loaned to them draining from their bodies. They were banged up, but nothing serious, so they used a few potions since Hope wasn't in much of a position to cast magic. Once they were back to their handicapped abilities, Anima came to, using her returned power to heal them of their fatigue.

The first to recover was Light, and she went to Hope to check on him before standing in front of Anima. "You followed us."

"I did."

"Why?" Lightning was frowning, there was more going on, and while Titan said he'd explain, she didn't know how much she trusted him.

"I knew that Lindzei were in the area, Titan bid me to protect you."

"Why didn't you tell us you could do that?"

"I can not do it often. It was very temporary, and it will expand your brands at an alarming rate. We must find a way to restore your powers."

"How do we do that?"

"You were remade l'Cie when I was weakened, placed in this human shell. Return me to my true form and I can fix you."

Snow stepped forward, taking over for the hotheaded Lightning. "Just how are we supposed to do that?"

"Turn to crystal."


End file.
